Obama Administration Resists New Sanctions

 

      “Ensuring that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon has been the heart of President Obama’s foreign policy from the moment that he took office.  It has not changed.  And when he talked to me about the prospect of becoming Secretary of State, I looked at him and I said, “Mr. President, I want to know for certain that what you’re saying about Iran and what the consequences may be if we can’t get where we need to go in a deal are actual – are real.  I mean, are we going to hold them accountable?”  And the President looked at me and he said, “Iran will not get a nuclear weapon, and I will do whatever is necessary.”

            “The President has never changed on this.  And that policy will not change.  And while we may disagree on tactics from time to time, when it comes to the core strategic goal – no nuclear weapon – there is not an inch of daylight between the United States and the State of Israel.  And that is why, over the past year, we and our P5+1 partners have been engaged in intense and tough negotiations with the Iranian Government in hopes of finding a comprehensive, durable, and verifiable arrangement that resolves all of the international community’s concerns.

            “Now, I ask you to take a moment.  It is important to take a moment to remember how we got to this point.  We are here not because of the difficult history between the United States and Iran, though difficult it is.  And yesterday’s deeply disturbing charges against an American journalist who was simply doing his job is just the latest reminder of that.  Nor are we here because of the indefensible threats that Iranian leaders have periodically made against Israel, though indefensible they are.  We are not even here because of terrorist acts Iran has sponsored, or its destabilizing activities in the region, though we condemn them whenever and wherever they occur.

            “Rather, we are here for a few simple reasons – because systematically, over many years, Iran did not address the world’s concerns about an illicit nuclear program, and because the entire international community felt that it was imperative that Iran meet its international obligations.  So we spent several years building the broadest, deepest sanctions regime in history, in order to get the answers the world demands.  I was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee when we passed those, and I am proud of the impact that they’ve had, as is every member of Congress.  We wouldn’t be at the table without it.

            “But we are also here – excuse me – we’re also here because, ultimately, we believe that the best way to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon is through a verified, negotiated agreement – thank you, Martin – we are convinced that the best way to create accountability is through a verified negotiated agreement that resolves the international community’s legitimate concerns, proves that Iran’s program is peaceful, as it says it is, and gives the Iranian people, with whom we have no specific quarrel, the chance for a better future.

            “Now, obviously, this process takes time.  The stakes are high, the issues are complicated and technical, and if we are, in fact, to cut off all the pathways through which Iran could obtain enough fissile material for a bomb, every detail matters enormously. But it also takes time because we will not settle for just any agreement.  We want the right agreement.

            “Last year, I spoke here at the forum shortly after we signed the Joint Plan of Action that enabled us to begin formal negotiations.  And I remember distinctly many voices proclaimed we had made a tragic mistake.  We were admonished that Iran would cheat and the sanctions regime that we had painstakingly built over several years would crumble.  We were accused of jeopardizing the safety and security of our nation and our closest partners.  And in response, I shared with you at that time that the United States, our partners, including Israel and the entire world, would, in fact, become safer the day that the Joint Plan of Action was implemented.  And guess what.  That is exactly what happened.

            “One year ago, Iran’s nuclear program was rushing full-speed toward larger stockpiles, greater uranium enrichment capacity, the production of weapons-grade plutonium and ever-shortening breakout time.  Today, Iran has lived up to every commitment it made in the interim agreement.  Progress on its nuclear program has been rolled back for the first time in a decade.  How do we know that?  Because the IAEA and our partners have been able to verify that Iran is indeed honoring the JPOA commitments.

            “Today, IAEA inspectors have daily access – daily access – to Iran’s enrichment facilities, including Fordow, and we have developed a far deeper understanding of Iran’s nuclear program, its centrifuge production, its uranium mines and mills.  Iran’s entire stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium has been diluted or converted – every ounce – and they have suspended all uranium enrichment above 5 percent.  All progress on the Arak plutonium reactor is frozen in place.  No new components have been put in that would allow them to commission it.  

            “And I can assure you, as we work now to reach a comprehensive deal, the United States continues to believe – as we have from day one and as Israel has said it also believes – that no deal is preferable to a bad deal.  And that’s why we had an extension. Now, we know that just like JPOA, any agreement will be subject to the legitimate scrutiny of our citizens, the Congress and our closest partners.

            “We also have no intention of negotiating forever.  And absent measurable progress, who knows how much longer this could go on?  As of now, with significant gaps still remaining, we do not know if we will be able to make it.

            “But we also know for sure that a negotiated settlement, a negotiated outcome, if it meets our standards, is the best way to account for and close off all of Iran’s potential pathways to a nuclear weapon.  And in recent weeks, we have seen new ideas surface, flexibility emerge that could – I repeat, could – help resolve some issues that had been intractable.  And that is why, two weeks ago in Vienna, when we reached the most recent deadline that we’d set for the negotiation, we all agreed to extend them for this brief period of time.  By the way, though it said seven months, we’re not looking at seven months.  We are – I think the target is three, four months, and hopefully even sooner if that is possible.

            “Now, why are we doing this?  Because I believe, President Obama believes, the Administration deeply believes that it would be the height of irresponsibility, it would be against our own interests and those of our closest partners, to walk away from a table when and if a peaceful resolution might really be within reach.  If this effort fails, we have been crystal clear that we will do what we have to do.  But if we succeed in reaching an agreement, the entire world – including Israel – will be safer for it.”

 

            If additional sanctions are placed on Iran, “The P5+1 would fracture, the international community would blame the United States rather than Iran for the collapse of the negotiations, and the Iranians would conclude that there’s little point in pursuing this process at the negotiating table.”

 

            Existing sanctions have "frozen [Iran's nuclear] program. It's given us a shot for a peaceful solution...I tell you, I think it's a less than even shot but it's a shot, nonetheless."

            "This is not the time to risk a breakdown [by imposing new sanctions] when we still have a chance at a breakthrough."

            Dec. 6, 2014 at a Middle East forum hosted by the Brookings Institution